Tag Archives: hydrocarbons

BP says operations resume at Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz

AUG. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — BP said that it had resumed pumping gas out of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea after a two week planned maintenance period closed the operation. The Shah Deniz gas field is Azerbaijan’s main gas field and is being expanded to send gas to Europe. Its second phase expansion is seen as critical to future European gas supplies,

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Gazprom opens new gas pipeline in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, AUG. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller officially unveiled a renovated section of the gas pipeline that pumps gas from Bukhara in Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan and on to Kazakhstan.

The pipeline renovation is seen as a major piece of regional infrastructure that should improve access to heat and electricity for residents of Bishkek and other Kyrgyz cities. It also highlights the power of Gazprom in the region. It bought the Kyrgyz gas distribution business in Kyrgyzstan in 2013 for a symbolic $1, promising to improve its performance.

The opening of the new pipeline will go along way to making good on this promise and also towards strengthening Russia’s soft power impact in the region.

“The reconstruction of the Kyrgyz section of the Bukhara Gas-Bearing Province – Tashkent – Bishkek – Almaty gas pipeline has taken us to the next level in terms of reliability of gas supplies not only to the north of the Kyrgyz Republic, but also to the south of Kazakhstan,” media quoted Mr Miller as saying.

Gazprom officials said that the capacity of the pipeline had been doubled and that nearly 2,000 extra homes in Kyrgyzstan had been added to the mains gas network.
Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev was also at the opening ceremony of the pipeline. His presence underscored the pipeline’s significance and also how it connects neighbours with often fractious relations. Previously, under Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan had withheld gas deliveries to Kyrgyzstan as a weapon.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Oil shipments through Georgia’s Batumi port fall

SEPT. 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil shipments through the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi have fallen by a third this year, a port official told Reuters. The port is a major hub for the region’s economy and a large drop in oil shipments, most arrive on trains from Baku, could suggest a slowdown. The port is operated by Kazakh oil and gas company Kazmunaigas. In total, Batumi port processed 1.472m tonnes of crude and refined oil in the first eight months of the year, down from 2.227m tonnes.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli production falls

AUG. 17 2017 (The Bulletin) — BP said that the Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli (ACG) in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea produced 14m tonnes of oil in the first half of 2017, 12.5% less than during the same period in 2016. The drop will irritate Azerbaijani officials who have been pressuring BP to stop a production slippage at ACG, its biggest oil producer. In the first half of 2013, ACG had produced nearly 22m tonnes of oil.

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Copyright ©Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 340, published on Aug. 20 2017)

 

Berdy visits Azerbaijan

AUG. 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov flew to Baku for talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that focused on efforts to feed Turkmen gas into the South Caucasus Energy Corridor that will pump supplies to Europe from the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan is looking for more export routes for its gas. Officially the two leaders signed a document promising to further their strategic partnership.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

 

US sanctions do not hit Kazakh CPC exports

AUG. 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — New US sanctions imposed on Russia will not affect Kazakh oil exports via the CPC pipeline to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, media quoted Kazakhstan  economy minister Timur Suleimenov, as saying. CPC has become the main export route for Kazakh oil produced at Tengizchevroil and Kashagan. At the start of August, US President Donald Trump signed a series of sanctions targeting Russian oil exports in retaliation for its meddling in the US election.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

 

Turkmenistan to start Galkynysh 3rd phase

JULY 21 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan is due to begin work on a third phase development of its Galkynysh gas field next year, a source at the project told the Trend news agency. Galkynysh, in the east of the country, is one of the biggest gas fields in the world and is central to Turkmenistan’s wealth. It pumps almost all of its gas to China, currently. The extension to Galkynysh is timed for the start of the so-called TAPI gas pipeline, scheduled for 2019, which will send gas across Afghanistan to energy- hungry consumers in Pakistan and India.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

 

Azerbaijan boosts gas imports from Russia

JULY 3 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia’s Gazprom said that it was in negotiations with Azerbaijan to increase the amount of gas it sells it. The statement followed a meeting between the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller and the head of SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state- owned oil and gas company, Rovnag Abdullayev and highlights improved Azerbaijan-Russia relations. Azerbaijan started gas imports in September 2015.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

 

Azerbaijan oil exports via BTC fall 11.8%

JULY 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) fell by 11.8% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year to 13.174m tonnes, state-owned SOCAR said. This is significant as the BTC export route is Azerbaijan’s main thoroughfare for its oil, its most important commodity. No reason was given for the drop in oil exports.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

 

Oil shipments from Georgia drop

JULY 4 2017 (The Bulletin) — Oil shipments from the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi have fallen 29.2% this year, an official from Kazakhstan’s state-run Kazmunaigas told local media. He didn’t give a reason for the drop although Kazakh oil producers have previously said that they have switched exports to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which threads around the north coast of the Caspian Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Batumi is a major oil exit point for crude oil heading to Europe. A heavy reduction in its use will hit Georgian revenues. Georgian officials have not commented.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)